Power companies to be fined if supply disruption lasts more than an hour: Delhi CM

Kejriwal said “Now consumers don’t have to waste their time visiting courts and paying touts. They can directly go to electricity office and get the issues resolved.”

Holding power companies accountable for power cuts, Kejriwal said, “If power cut lasts for more than an hour then power company will have to face penalty. It’s the responsibility of the power companies to ensure consumers don’t face any diffculties.”

Last week the government had announced the scheme with aim to providing relief to consumers who have been in disputes with the power companies over the alleged inflated bills, defective meters, unreasonable penalties and misuse charges.

Under the scheme, people living in JJ clusters, who could not pay their dues in the past will now only be charged Rs.25o per month for the period they’ve not paid their dues. The government has decided to waive off any late surcharge or interest while the consumers will have the options to pay their dues in ‘six monthly’ installments.

A government press release said that the government had been receiving a large number of complaints from the aggrieved consumers and the new initiative was aimed at addressing that problem effectively.

The AAP-led government also announced that all previous criminal or civil proceedings, if any, related to these cases, will be withdrawn with the scheme remaining effective for one month starting from 30 August.